


two heroes

by lu_marii



Series: two heroes [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Amnesia, Claustrophobia, Disabled Character, Dorks, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Wolf Link (Legend of Zelda), hero siblings au!, just. dorks.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lu_marii/pseuds/lu_marii
Summary: She wants nothing more than to join Link and the Princess on their trip to the mountain, but it’s restricted only to those two and the Champions. Instead, she will stay in Castle Town. She will write letters to Mama and draw and train, and she will ignore the rolling feeling in her gut when she thinks about the evil looming on the horizon. In the eyes of the people she is not the Hero, can not join them on their trip - in the eyes of the people, she is the girl who claimed to be the Hero when she was a child out of jealousy or power seeking or something of the sort. The fact that she’s of such high rank now is astounding, and she’s had to work hard to get there with her reputation.The Master Sword rests on Link’s back. Her fingers itch to reach out and touch it. She doesn’t.or: in wild's world, there are two heroes. their names are link and aryll.
Relationships: Paya (Legend of Zelda)/Original Female Character(s), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Twilight (LInked Universe) & Original Female Character, Wild & his sister!!, Wild (Linked Universe) & Original Female Character
Series: two heroes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609738
Comments: 38
Kudos: 149





	1. prelude

**Author's Note:**

> shit what up im in love with wild's imaginary sister 
> 
> warning for claustrophobia towards the end bc of the shrine!! 
> 
> shout out to the aryll appreciation association server for like. existing

“Ari! Over here!”

  
  


Ari laughs as she runs through the grass to her big brother. Link waves his hand in an effort to rush her, and groans when she stops to apologize to the lizards and bugs her feet are scattering. When she finally makes it over to him, he places a finger to his lips and points at their rock. It’s theirs because the three of them - Link, Ari, and Wolf - have carved their names into it with Dad’s old pocket knife, even though Mama says they can’t own a boulder. “The monster’s back there!” He whispers. He hands her a stick. “Take this!”

She giggles. “Thank you, Mister Wizard!” 

She carefully and quietly stalks over to their rock, sword in hand. He follows behind her, brandishing his own stick - his wand. They stop just a few feet from their rock. Ari’s heart pounds in her chest, her palms sweat, she rolls the stick in her hands before charging forward with a roar-!

  
  
  


Her biggest brother jumps out, flailing his hands and snarling, showing off his fangs that make the other villagers stay away from him. 

“Wolf!” Ari yells. She charges forward and whacks at his torso with the stick. 

“Abra kedabra!” Link shouts, waving his own stick. 

“Argh,” Wolf groans, grabbing at the fabric over his chest, “You’ve killed me!” He collapses backwards, one hand falling over his forehead. He lays in the grass with his tongue sticking out.

“We defeated the Beast!” Ari shouts, holding her stick up to the sky triumphantly. 

  
  


Then she screams, and drops the stick to the ground. Her hand burns and she clutches at it with tears in her eyes - a glance to the right confirms Link is in a similar situation. The burn  _ throbs _ and Ari screams, and  _ screams;  _ She screams so hard she starts to go lightheaded and loses track of what’s going on for a while. But when the pain finally starts to die down, when her head finally starts to clear, Ari finds herself thrown over Mama’s shoulder. The fabric of Mama’s shirt smells like the cinnamon Mama and Link used to make breakfast this morning and Ari buries her nose in it. It’s hard to smell it through how stuffed up her nose is now, but comforting nonetheless. 

“I want Daddy,” Ari says. The words strain her throat and she whimpers, squeezing her eyes shut as more tears threaten to spill over. 

Mama shushes her gently. “I know, dear, but he can’t come now.” 

Eventually, they make it back to the house. The burning on her hand dies down to a sting, and Ari and Link find themselves sat at the table with glasses of water in their hands. Mama and Wolf sit across from them. Wolf’s head is in his hands, clawed fingers clutching at his hair. There’s a long moment of silence, where Wild and Ari are confused, Wolf pretends he isn’t crying, and Mama just stares.

And then finally -  _ finally _ \- Mama speaks. “Do either of you know what that symbol on your hand means?” 

Ari looks down at her hand. The symbol - three triangles - is already starting to fade away, like it was never there in the first place. She shakes her head no. 

“It means we’re the Heroes, aren’t we?” Link asks. Ari startles, looking to him in surprise. He is tense, jaw set, glaring down at the table. “I’ve been having - dreams...” 

Mama bites her lip, eyes welling up with tears that don’t fall. “Yes,” she says. Wolf flinches, but his hands come down from his face. 

“What it  _ means _ ,” Wolf spits, “Is that tomorrow morning, there will be castle guards knocking on our door because I’m sure someone from the village saw what happened. It means that starting tomorrow, the two of you’ll be training to be the Heroes.” 

——

_ (“The two of you” isn’t exactly accurate. No one quite likes Wolf - the people say he’s cursed, what with his fangs and claws and gold eyes - and his testimony isn’t taken seriously. So when the king looks upon Ari and Link, he only sees one Hero. The other goes home.* _

_ When she’s seven, she becomes a page. When she’s seven, she sneaks away with her brother and they each put a hand on the Blade of Evil’s Bane and draw it together. Only Link is allowed to wield it.) _

——

Aryll (not Ari, not anymore) goes on a run around Hyrule Castle every day with a wolf at her heels. It is simply part of her training - if she happens to go too fast for your average person, that’s no one’s business. If she happens to keep pace with the Hero when he joins her, it’s just a trick of the eye.

“Me and the Princess are going to Lanayru Mountain tomorrow,” Link signs as they recover from their run. He hands her his waterskin and she gladly accepts. Wolf paws at Link’s shin. He sighs, rolling his eyes, and signs, “Yes, I’ll make you pumpkin stew tomorrow.” Wolf gives a short, happy bark.

Aryll grimaces, wiping the water from her mouth. “You’ve been getting those dreams too, right?” Wolf’s tail stops wagging. 

“Yes,” Link signs simply. 

_ (Red skies. Dead Wolf, dead Mama - dead everyone. Master Sword cracked and broken. The Calamity.) _

Aryll takes another long sip of the waterskin. 

She wants nothing more than to join Link and the Princess on their trip to the mountain, but it’s restricted only to those two and the Champions. Instead, she will stay in Castle Town. She will write letters to Mama and draw and train, and she will ignore the rolling feeling in her gut when she thinks about the evil looming on the horizon. In the eyes of the people she is not the Hero, can not join them on their trip - in the eyes of the people, she is the girl who claimed to be the Hero when she was a child out of jealousy or power seeking or something of the sort. The fact that she’s of such high rank now is astounding, and she’s had to work  _ hard _ to get there what with her reputation. 

The Master Sword rests on Link’s back. Her fingers itch to reach out and touch it. She doesn’t.

When he catches her eye on it, he sighs and places a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

“I need to help you.” 

“No, you don’t.”

——

The Calamity returns two days later in Hyrule Castle, a block away from Ari’s house. Revali flies past on his way to Vah Medoh and drops off a hastily scrawled note from Link saying he and Zelda are coming back to Castle Town. Aryll grabs her sword and mounts a horse to meet them in the middle. 

And she watches Link fall. She watches the Master Sword roll out of his hand. In a daze she picks it up, and she kills a guardian - and then another, and another, destroying anything that  _ dares  _ to come near her unconscious brother but eventually she falls, too, and the last thing she see is the princess holding her hand up and emit a beautiful,  _ holy  _ golden light.

——

_ She’s stuck. _

She’s stuck! Where is she? Where is her brother? It’s dark in here, wherever  _ here _ is, and it smells like metal. She can’t see, but there is a body next to her. 

_ ”Link,” _ she says, and it comes out in a hoarse croak. There is no response except for her brother’s shallow breathing. 

She lifts her hand a few inches before it hits something cold and rough - stone? - then moves it over until she grabs onto an equally cold hand. She squeezes it and says, again, “Link?” 

He still doesn’t respond. 

Is she hearing his breathing, or is she hearing her own? 

She can’t remember how she got here. 

The panic starts to set in. “Link!” She says again, despite how it scratches at her throat, but there is still silence. She picks up her left hand and there is something wet on it - she’s in something wet, she realizes suddenly, half submerged in some kind of thick, cool substance. She pushes at the stone above her but it doesn’t budge, and she pushes more and it stays there, and she thinks,  _ I’m stuck. _

_ Link’s stuck. _

_ We’re going to die. _

_ Or we already are dead. _

Did the princess make it out safe?

_ What was the princess’s name? _

_ What princess? _

The screams rip her throat like paper. She claws at the stone but all she succeeds in doing is bloodying up her fingers.

She’s stuck.

She goes back to sleep.

——

She wakes again to a boy screaming.

No - not just a boy. Her brother. She has a brother. Does she? No. Yes! His name is - what is his name? Wolf? No, the other one - Link! He is the Hero. His name is Link. No - he’s not the Hero, she is. No, they’re both the Hero. 

And they failed. 

At what?

_ What did they fail at? _

The boy is screaming. Her brother. Her brother is screaming, and he is clawing at the stone.

“Link,” she says, and the screams stop.

“Ar...i?” His voice sounds even worse than hers.

“Yes.”

“Where…”

“Do you remember the battle?”

“No.”

“It’s okay. I barely can either.”

They go back to sleep.

——

And they wake up, a hundred years after their death, to an unfamiliar girl’s voice in their ears.


	2. the great plateau // the wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And there, on the edge of camp, is a wolf. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT may 27 removed the last two or so paragraphs

“Is a hero really a hero if they can’t remember what they’re supposed to save?”

When Ari asked, Link said yes. _Yes_ , because they don’t have to _love_ a thing to save it, they just have to _save_ it. Ari responded that she never said they _don’t_ love what they’re supposed to save. They just don’t _remember_ it. 

Link shrugged. “How can you love something you don’t remember?” 

Ari had tensed, spine going straight. “I love _you_ ,” she pointed out. 

A huffed laugh, and a small smile, the left side of which was pulled down by scars. “But that’s different. We don’t need to remember each other. We have each other _now_.”

* * *

They’re set up a little while away from the Old Man’s house - he’d offered to let them stay the night but something about it just felt _wrong._ They only have one shrine left until he gives them the paragliders, and something in the back of Ari’s mind is irked by the fact that he’s making them work for it in the first place. In Ari’s heart of hearts she knows that paraglider was made to fit in her hands, was made to carry her weight. One more shrine, and she’ll have the paraglider. The goddamned shrine’s orange glow mocks Ari from across the ravine. 

And there, on the edge of camp, is a wolf. 

It’s been following them since right after they met the Old Man. Link loves the damn thing; he says it feels like he knows it _(used to know it)._ So Link tends to calm himself down or fall asleep by carding his fingers through the wolf’s fur, as Ari keeps a watchful eye.

At the moment, the wolf is sitting by itself, spine straight and eerily still, facing the Old Man’s house. Its eyes see something in the darkness that Ari can’t. The wolf, much like Ari, doesn’t seem to like the Old Man. The old coot sets Ari on edge. He speaks and Ari resists the urge to bow; he moves and she flinches back from an invisible slap. 

(And the Old Man sees this. He watches these children cringe away from him and he regrets what he did, how he forced them to be weapons. How he can do nothing to fix this now.) 

“I still think we should eat it,” Ari says, glaring at the wolf. Its ears prick but it doesn’t look back. 

Link throws a stick at her. “No. _He.”_

“What reason do we have to _not_ eat it?” Ari asks. She gives a pointed look to Link’s dubious concoction of one singular hyrule bass and two apples. Supposedly, that’s dinner. 

“He protects us,” Link says. It’s been about a week since they woke up and he’s been working on his voice. His words still come out strangled more often than not, but he’s been improving rapidly. 

“I’ll give you that,” Ari says, waving a hand, “But we’re perfectly capable of protecting ourselves. What if we starve?” 

“Not going to.” 

“What, ‘cuz you’re gonna cook us dinner?”

  
  
“Yeah.”

Rolling her eyes, Ari slumps down against the tree she’s sitting by. She’ll admit that the wolf has been _helpful_ , sure, and it’s nice to have someone who’s just as anti-Old Man as she is. But... there’s just something about that damned wolf she doesn’t trust. She doesn’t like the markings on its forehead. They’re too precise to be natural, and it shies away when they’re touched.

Then there’s the way it _acts_ . Ari didn’t believe Link at first when he said the wolf understood what they were saying. She swore up and down his nods and winks and everything were just coincidences - but then Link sat there and told the wolf all kinds of crazy things (nod your head six times, get that apple over there, drag that stick to that rock) and he _did_ . What the fuck. Wolves don’t just _do_ that, Link, _why_ do you think it’s _normal_?

Ari sort of thought at first that it was some sort of spy from that Calamity Ganon dude. Ari doesn’t remember him, _but_ the Old Man and the voice in her head both said he’s some kind of evil asshole, and _clearly_ Link and Ari are meant to stop him if what the weird lady in her head told her is to be believed. The Old Man avoids the question when Ari asks what the lady means when she says Ari and Link are Hyrule’s “light”, but Ari isn’t an idiot. 

(Ari doesn’t remember the Calamity, really. But when she tries to think of it she thinks of _running- torn clothes - blood - screaming - howling wolf - link falling - golden light -_ and she doesn’t really want to remember anymore.)

It can’t be a spy, though. It protects them, it kills monsters for them, and don’t the monsters work for Ganon? Why would it kill its colleagues? 

She doesn’t have any _real_ reason to not trust it, if she’s being honest. Really, it’s proven time and time again that she can. But it lays next to her brother while he is asleep and vulnerable. And that sets Ari on edge.

Ari doesn’t sleep much the night before they leave the Plateau. Instead, she glares at the Wolf, hand on the hilt of her sword.

* * *

  
  


The next day finds them paragliding off of The Great Plateau. 

Link’s paraglider is mostly red with a yellow bird on it; Ari’s is a light green, with the same bird drawn on it in black. When she uses it, it feels _right_ ; She loves heights, the feeling of freedom. The paraglider makes her think of black feathers and cocky smirks and friendship. The paraglider feels like it’s _hers,_ and it’s always _been_ hers, and the Old Man making her work to get it back feels like theft. Her suspicions that it was made _for_ her and _by_ her are confirmed the second she jumps off the side of the Plateau. 

Ari’s glad to leave the Great Plateau behind. Not only is she leaving behind the Old Man - she’s leaving behind the Goddess damned _wolf._

They land to the east of the Plateau in the midst of some ruins. According to the map, Kakariko is a straight shot, but of course they don’t have the tower yet and so don’t know what the topography is in between them and the village. 

They loot the ruins real quick - rusty weapons are still weapons! - and then move forward. They take out a couple of moblins (Ari just wants to rush them but Link is very excited about the Sheikah Slate’s powers, so they hide out of sight and throw some bombs). And they keep moving. They find some Korok seeds - damn things are _cute_ \- and some Shrines and chests and it’s _fun._ They run and they paraglide and they shield surf; They reach the Dueling Peaks and they split up to climb each one and wave to each other from across the divide. They take out bokoblins and they catch a couple horses and they find more shrines and they run away from guardians. All without that _fucking wolf._

Then they finally reach Kakariko Village. They’re each sporting some slightly better weapons and some real, _actual_ food in their Sheikah Slate and yeah, okay, they’re feeling pretty darn good about themselves. Ari saunters up to the entrance without a care in the world. 

Then she stops short with a growl in her throat. There’s a wolf waiting at the gate.

* * *

It’s very quickly obvious that Ari remembers their old life better than Link does. That’s… not really _saying_ much, if Link is being honest. But she remembers their names (already a point on her side), she remembers their relation to each other, she remembers what they are: Heroes. She remembers how to _speak,_ and read, and write. And Link can sign, sure, and he’s working on the whole speaking thing as it comes back to him incrementally, but reading and writing are still pretty out of the question.  
Ari remembers so much more than he does, but it is clear by the way she looks at Wolf that she does not remember him. 

  
Wolf was waiting for them in Kakariko - not _the wolf_ but Wolf himself, their big brother. Link doesn’t really listen when Ari tries to say that it’s not him because - well, look at his eyes! Those are _Wolf’s_ eyes, and normal wolves don’t just _understand_ people like that so clearly he must have _some_ level of intelligence, and those markings _definitely_ aren’t natural and _can’t_ be a coincidence and - Link knows he’s his brother. He just has to figure out why Wolf won’t admit it, won’t transform or prove it to Ari. 

And his refusal to transform back results in Ari pulling Link back by his collar, snarl on her lips and hand on the hilt of her swordas she glares at the wolf. It results in Ari threatening to kill their brother. And Link gets it, he really does - it’s not like he remembers much either - but it still hurts to see, and he can’t imagine how it must make Wolf himself feel. 

Ari remembers more than him. But the one thing she _doesn’t_ remember that Link _does_ is family. 

Link remembers this: Red hair and calloused hands and a joyful laugh. Blonde hair and blue eyes of an old soul. Sharp teeth and sharper claws and a soft smile. A mother who loved them, and a father who was never there, and a brother who protected them.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is thanks to mochi she's an enabler everyone say thanks mochi


	3. kakariko village // the girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Heroes make a new friend, and Ari interrogates the Wolf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> u may have noticed i deleted the other two fics in this series. that is unimportant. pretend those fics never existed. u never even saw them 
> 
> also uh!! i'm doing camp nano so hopefully chapters will be coming out faster? next chapter is an interlude so it will be relatively short, but it's already done so that won't be far off.

Ari looks at the Wolf. The Wolf looks back at her. 

The _fucking Wolf_ is here. In Kakariko. The _Wolf._ The _Wolf_ that _can’t fly_ is _in Kakariko._ The Wolf, that last Ari saw, was in the _Great Plateau._ Can wolves use paragliders? Did the Old Man _give_ _the Wolf_ a _paraglider?_ No he didn’t, that’s stupid, but - _did he?_

These are the thoughts that run through Ari’s brain in roughly half a second. As this is happening, Link gives a happy cheer and wraps his arms around the damned animal, burying his face in its fur. 

_ ”Link!”  _ She shouts, “ _ Think  _ for a minute!” 

Link, muffled by the Wolf’s fur, says, “Huh?” Ari marches forward, grabs a fistful of Link’s shirt, and yanks him off the Wolf as though she’s lifting a rag doll. 

_ ”Ari,”  _ he whines petulantly, “Why?”    
  


“Think, for once in your life. How do you figure the wolf got here?” 

Link stares at her. His eyebrows draw low over his eyes as he thinks. Ari can practically see the gears in his head turning. 

“Uh...” He turns to the Wolf. “How  _ did  _ you get here?” The Wolf doesn’t respond, obviously, instead just staring blankly at them. 

Ari nods her head slowly. “Yeah. Wolves can’t  _ fly.  _ How could he have gotten off the Great Plateau?”

Link looks at the Wolf. The goddess damned Wolf, still lying on the ground with its head on its paws, looks back with big, innocent eyes.

“That’s fine,” Link says simply. “Wolf’s fine.” Ari lets go of his shirt. He gives a little  _ oof _ as he hits the ground. 

Ari gives a long, tired sigh. She closes her eyes. Sets Link down. “Fine. The Wolf’s  _ fine.  _ Fine!”

The Wolf barks happily, tail thumping the dirt behind it. Ari gives it a sharp glare, dragging a finger across her throat. The faux innocent head tilt it gives back is  _ infuriatingly  _ smug. It  _ knows _ she can’t kill it if Link likes it. 

The Wolf trots after them as they explore Kakariko. Ari very dutifully pretends it isn’t there, no matter how much its presence grates on her nerves. They sell some odds and ends they picked up on their way. They’ve been hurting for arrows, so they stock up on those as well as a little bit of food and some new clothes - they manage to scrounge together enough for two Hylian sets. (Ari resolves to dye hers. She’s here to make a  _ statement,  _ baby.)

Eventually, Link and Ari have talked to every single person in town and are floundering for something else to do. Ari watches with fondness as Link tries to teach a young girl how to make a simple dish - but that comes to an end, too. As Link waves goodbye and walks back over to her, Ari sighs and says, “Well, we can’t avoid Impa forever.”   
  


* * *

Impa, as it seems cryptic elders in this world tend to do, entrusts them with a quest: free the Divine Beasts. 

(It is not actually Impa, who gives them that quest. It’s a message the Princess left for her. The  _ Princess.  _ A part of Ari’s mind wonders if she gets bored, up in that castle Ari’s failure doomed her to.) 

Before the Calamity, the Divine Beasts were piloted by people called  _ champions,  _ apparently. Ari tries to think of that word - tries to envision who those champions could have been. She grasps at flashes of feathers and red hair and all consuming  _ jealousy _ . She manages to hold on to none of those flashes and instead gets a splitting headache. 

Now, the Champions are long dead, and their Beasts are corrupted by Ganon’s malice.  _ Ah _ , Ari thinks somewhat bitterly,  _ the consequences of my actions.  _

But before Link and Ari can even look the Beasts’ way, they have to tackle the issue of their missing memories. Impa points them towards Hateno Village; A scientist named Purah lives there, and she will supposedly help them unlock the pictures in their Slate. Impa suggests this could help them rediscover their memories. 

  
  
Ari isn’t sure how much she even  _ minds _ not having her memories, truthfully. Sure, it’s awful not being able to remember her brother. She wants to remember her brother more than anything, but - well. Does it really matter now, who she used to be? Does she want to be the person who was meant to be the  _ Hero _ , the person who was supposed to save the world and  _ failed _ ? She doesn’t want to remember that. Not at all. 

Still, they have plans to disembark from Kakariko in two days. 

* * *

That night finds Link passed out in the inn and Ari kneeling in front of the town’s Goddess statue. She shuffles a bit, brings her hands together, and closes her eyes. Almost instantly, she can feel the Goddess listening.  _ Wish she’d done that before,  _ something in the back of her mind mutters, and she doesn’t fully understand. 

“Dear Hylia, I must say, this kind of sucks,” she begins, mumbling to herself. “Like, this is total bullshit. I mean, was any of this necessary? Was this part of your grand plan? Why couldn’t Ganon have been defeated a hundred years ago?  _ Why _ , my Lady, did it have to wait?” Her voice raises a little bit and she stops for a moment, taking a deep breath.  _ Quiet _ , she reminds herself. It’s midnight. 

At a much lower tone, she continues, “Well, I guess I’m in no position to argue with the Goddess. Maybe it’s on me that we had to sleep for a hundred years. Yeah, that’s probably it. I ain’t much of a hero. I still don’t know why you chose me. Link’s plenty heroic, I think. Least, that’s how it’s always been in the past, yeah? Just Link.”

It’s always been  _ Just Link _ in all of those legends. Just Link, grabbing the Blade of Evil’s Bane. Just Link, with a Triforce on his hand. Just Link, delivering the final blow on Ganon or whatever evil the universe concocted that time. There was never an Aryll, never a stupid little sister. Never two kids with half the Triforce of Courage on their hands, never two kids sharing a Sword.  _ Just Link, _ and  _ just Link _ has always been enough for the universe.    
  
“So why me, too? Is it ‘cuz of me this happened? Am I just a fluke in your grand plan?” 

_ Am I the reason we lost? If it wasn’t for me, would Link have won? _

  
  
Hylia doesn’t respond. 

  
  
“Well, whatever. I’m sorry, my Lady, that you got stuck with a Hero like me. I promise I will not fail again. In Hylia’s name, amen.” 

And for a long moment, there is silence. Silence, in which Hylia doesn’t respond and Ari can somehow feel her divine presence withdrawing once more. Silence except for the restless crickets’ music and the frogs’ croaks and Ari’s slightly ragged breathing. 

“What are you doing?”    
  


Ari startles. She scrambles to stand and, with a short yelp, she finds herself tumbling into the pond. After flailing in the water for a moment she manages to break to the surface again, gasping for breath. There’s a hand right in front of her and she takes it, letting the new person pull her up.    


  
Once her feet hit solid ground she registers the girl hovering nervously in front of her - the girl from Impa’s house. The one with the pretty white hair and the big brown eyes.  _   
  
_

“Are… you alright?” The girl asks. 

  
  
Well, her new clothes are dripping wet and she is now very, very cold. She ignores this and says hurriedly, “I’m fine, Miss… Paya, was it?” 

_   
_ The girl steps away slightly and settles her hands behind her back. “Oh, um, yes! You can just call me Paya, if you like. Uh, what were you doing, Miss Aryll?” 

  
_   
_ “Ari,” she corrects, already feeling the heat rising up her neck at her full name, “And no ‘miss’.” 

“Oh, sorry, Ari,” Paya says. The girl’s face is lit by fire, making her soft features appear sharp in the harsh light.

_   
_ “It’s not a problem.” Ari shrugs, ignoring how uncomfortable the dripping wet fabric of her shirt feels on her skin.  _ Goddesses,  _ she fell in a pond in front of this girl - this very, very pretty girl -  _ aaand  _ Ari very suddenly remembers that Paya had asked her a question. “I was just praying.” 

_   
_ Paya cocks her head. “Praying? To who?”    


  
“To… Hylia?” Damn it, Ari can hear her teeth chattering - she does everything she can to control it, curling in on herself a bit. 

_   
_ _   
_ “Oh, wow, really?” Paya says, eyebrows going up. “I... don’t know many people who still worship the Golden Goddess. She’s fallen out of favor in the past century.” Her nervousness has disappeared, her eyes flickering with something like passion. 

Ari looks back to the statue. Hylia’s presence has withdrawn but it still glows with Hylia’s power. “I didn’t realize,” she says, and just maybe it comes out a little harsher than she meant it.  __

Paya’s eyes go wide, her hands coming up to her mouth. “Oh - oh, miss, I’m so sorry! I completely forgot, I - I’m so sorry-!” 

  
  
Ari flails her hands a little bit, sending droplets of water every which way. “It’s alright!” Ari says hurriedly, “Don’t worry! It’s not everyday you meet a hundred and fifteen year old amnesiac, is it? I don’t blame you.” 

  
_   
_ Paya stares at her for a moment. Then, with a small, nervous giggleshe says, “No, I suppose it isn’t.” 

There’s a short period of silence in which Ari shivers and Paya shuffles awkwardly. Ari examines the slope of Paya’s nose, the arch of her eyebrows, and she feels her face heat up. _By the_ _Goddess_ \- Ari scrambles for something to say. 

“Hey,” she says finally, “What are  _ you _ doing out here?” 

“I- oh, well, uh,” Paya casts her gaze to the sky. “You see... uh, it’s just my job to take care of the statue, is all!” 

  
_   
_ Ari follows her gaze, raising a (slightly damp) hand to point out the waxing gibous in the sky. “At midnight?” 

“...Yes,” Paya squeaks. 

“Right, of course,” Ari says with a sly grin. “I should have known. Hey, I ought to go back to the inn. Link’s bound to wake up - light sleeper - and realize I’m gone.”  _ He’ll panic, _ is what she doesn’t add. “But hey, do you wanna meet up again tomorrow? I mean, if you want to! You, me, and Link oughtta have lunch. My brother’s a really good cook, you know?” 

Every shred of confidence Ari thought she had in her stupid little hands has disappeared, because no matter how smoothly that came out it was  _ idiotic.  _ She’s a good speaker, sure, but that doesn’t mean what she actually says is even halfway intelligent. Wonderful. Why did she say  _ and Link?!  _ She accepts her fate and waits for rejection. 

  
_   
_ But rejection doesn’t come. Instead, she gets, “That - that sounds amazing! I’d love to!”

_   
_ _   
_ “Really?!” Ari says with surprise, then quickly rights herself. “Yeah, okay! I’ll meet you at your place at noon tomorrow?”

  
_   
_ “Noon,” Paya confirms.

_   
_   
“It’s a date!” Ari’s heart rate spikes more than is probably healthy the second she says that. “Well, you know, not a date, but - well, you know what I mean-”

Paya cuts her off with a giggle. “Goodnight, Ari.” 

  
  
“Goodnight, Paya.” 

* * *

  
  


“Can’t believe you fell in the pond,” Link says for the millionth time since Ari stumbled back into the inn dripping wet. Now, her clothes are hanging up outside and she’s in a simple shirt and pair of loose pants borrowed from the innkeeper. She’s laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, and Link is settled in the other one with the Wolf at his feet. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Ari responds sweetly. 

“Invited her to lunch.” 

  
  
“Shut. Up.”

  
“Said I would cook.” 

  
  
“I’m going to kill you.” 

  
  
“Can’t reach me.”    
  


“I,” she says, picking up a pillow, “am only three inches shorter.” 

  
  
She relishes in the sound he makes when the pillow slams into his face. 

* * *

The next day, after a particularly eventful morning of completing another shrine and finding a great fairy’s fountain, three teenagers and a wolf sit on the wooden patio next to High Spirit’s Produce. The smell of delicious homemade stew wafts through the air and Ari feels like she’s about to vomit. 

She is very, very nervous. While it’s been made clear that Ari is typically the more calm and collected one - the diplomat of the pair, if you will - it almost seems as though she’s passed all her social skills to her previously socially daft brother. There’s sweat on her back and on her hands and a pit in her stomach; Meanwhile, Link confidently cracks shitty joke after shitty joke. Paya laughs, but that might just be because she’s polite. Truly, Link’s jokes suck. 

Ari takes a deep breath.  _ Relax _ , she tells herself,  _ you’ve got different things to worry about. _ (Like the malice swirling around Hyrule Castle.) This is no time to freak out over pretty girls with pretty white hair and pretty brown eyes. She flounders for a minute for a conversational topic, but luckily Paya herself saves her. 

“Who’s the wolf?” She asks, peering curiously down at the aforementioned demon spawn. The Wolf blinks back up at her with falsely innocent eyes. “He’s pretty.” The Wolf preens, holding its head up a little higher.  _ Why, thank you,  _ it seems to be saying. It noses at Link’s hand, who sighs and ladles out another bowl of stew to set on the ground. 

“A companion we picked up,” Ari says. “It’s been following us around for a while now. It’s… a pretty smart dog.” That’s about the nicest thing she can say about the creature. 

“Wolf, not dog,” Link corrects. 

  
  
“Same thing,” Ari says. 

  
  
“Not at  _ all,”  _ Link says, brandishing the ladle. Ari rears back as though genuinely afraid, delighting in the sound of Paya’s giggles.

After a bite of her stew, Paya says, “You guys are funny. I wish I had someone to goof around with like you two do.” She looks wistfully down the street at the statues she’s charged with taking care of. Link looks at Ari, and Ari looks back at Link, and a silent message is passed. 

  
  
“Well, you’ve got two people to goof off with now,” Ari says, “I haven’t known you very long, but you seem like someone I wanna be friends with.”

The Wolf barks and Link adds, “Two people and Wolf.” 

  
  
“Yeah, and the Wolf,” Ari relents. She reaches across the table and ignores the way her heart spikes when Paya takes her hand. Then Link reaches across, too, and then he goes for Ari’s hand. And then there are three teenagers and a wolf, sitting in a little village with a big castle in the horizon, and Ari thinks she may have just made her first friend. 

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” Link says, “more stew?” At Paya’s nod he pours a little bit more into her bowl. “But we’ll come back.” 

  
  
Paya smiles, and it is quiet and shy but blinding. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


“You like Paya,” Link says later that night when they’re getting their things packed. There is no question mark at the end where there usually would be - in typical Link fashion, it is a statement, a matter of fact declaration. 

“Yes,” Ari says, folding up the ratty clothes from the Shrine they woke up in. “I think she’ll be a good friend.” 

  
  
Link levels a blank look on her. “You  _ like  _ Paya.” The Wolf barks in agreement.    
  


“I hate you,” she says. She sets her clothes on the Sheikah Slate and admires the way the Slate takes them in with a blue light. “ _ Both  _ of you.” 

“No, you don’t,” Link says. She makes a rude gesture and picks up an apple from their pile of things. 

“You’re right, I just hate the Wolf.” The Wolf gives a long, fake whine. Ari rolls her eyes. “I’m gonna go for a walk.” Yeah, some peace and quiet sounds nice. 

This works for a few minutes. She once again finds herself in front of the Goddess statue, knees curled up to her chest. An apple core sits forgotten next to her. The thoughts in her head swirl like the koi in the pond in front of her;  _ Pretty white hair  _ mixes with  _ What the hell is that wolf?! _ ; Her mind drifts back to the thing dancing above Hyrule Castle and then flashes of images of things that are unfamiliar but  _ shouldn’t _ be -  _ feathers and lightning and scales and flaming red hair and wise blue eyes _ \- accost her and she squeezes her eyes shut to escape them. Without thinking she begins to hum a song she doesn’t remember the name of. It makes her think of home, whatever that is to her. 

Something wet touches her hand. Her eyes snap open and in the dim light she finds - ugh. The fucking  _ Wolf.  _ It sits itself down next to her and looks up with curious eyes. 

“What even are you?” She asks, a small snarl on her lips. The Wolf cocks its head and Ari gets its message. She groans. “Goddess, I’m talking to a wolf.” The way its lips pull back, revealing its sharp fangs, almost resembles a grin. Mother _ fucker.  _

Glaring, she says, “You know, I don’t trust you-” Its grin only widens. “Hey, what’s that face mean? You’re a little prick, you know that?” As if to agree, it gives a small bark. 

Ari narrows her eyes. She bumps her knuckles against the metal on its ankle. “What’s this shackle, huh? And those markings on your forehead?” It doesn’t respond, instead only giving an amused huff. Ari doesn’t expect most wolves to respond, truthfully, but this wolf is different, and she wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t really a wolf at all. 

She glares at it for a long moment, and it stares back, unimpressed. Then, finally, she asks the question she really cares about.    
  


“You’re not going to hurt my brother, are you?”

The Wolf shakes its head furiously. Then, it lifts its paw as though to point at her. She doesn’t get that, but her question is answered. Even if she’s still unsure he’s being truthful.

“Yeah, I thought so…” She sighs, watching a koi fish dart under a rock. “I don’t know why he trusts you so much. It’s so weird. Like, you’re clearly not a normal wolf. It is very obvious there is something unwolfish about you. I mean for one, wolves don’t understand Hylian.” She looks back at the Wolf for this. There is understanding, intelligence, in his sharp blue eyes. 

She brings her hand to the hilt of the traveler’s sword on her hip. “Just… watch yourself, yeah? I won’t hesitate to use this thing.” The Wolf nods. 

The Wolf fucking  _ nods.  _ How in Hylia’s name is Link  _ okay  _ with that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading two heroes! please leave a kudos, and a comment to let me know what you thought <3 
> 
> and once again, shout out to the aryll appreciation server for existing and carrying me through quarantine


	4. interlude I // the journey to hateno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> link reminisces, and shares some memories of their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry the projected chapter count keeps going up every time i post i. keep getting ideas,,, 
> 
> also this chapter. made me sob. not plot heavy because its just an interlude but :') im love

The journey to Hateno is mostly uneventful. 

They use the Slate to fast travel back to Dueling Peaks Stable. The Wolf follows them, somehow. They meet this man named Beedle - he sells them some arrows and gives the Wolf pets that, in Ari’s opinion, he doesn't deserve - and then they tame some horses for themselves. Ari’s is a solid brown horse with a dark brown mane that she lovingly names Dumbass. Link gets a gray one with a white mane - Ari’s unsure whether or not he named it. With Link, who knows. Riding a horse comes to her instinctively; Something else she learned a hundred years ago, probably. The Wolf trots after them, keeping pace fairly easily if not a bit behind. The path to Hateno is dotted with a few bokoblins but is otherwise empty - until they begin to approach Fort Hateno. The scenery makes something uneasy and sick settle in Ari’s stomach. 

Everywhere she looks, there’s a mechanical corpse of a guardian. Some are crawling over each other, some are half buried in the ground, others look like they’re about ready to get up and start walking any second. It reminds her of the still active ones in Eastern Abbey - the ones that her and Link had to climb walls and sprint past to avoid dying. 

Link spurs his horse into a canter. Ari follows suit. 

When they finally make it past Fort Hateno’s gates and slow their horses down, Ari gives a breath of relief. “Damn,” she calls, “That place was freaky, wasn’t it, Link?” Link’s face is twisted into an expression Ari can’t quite read. He nods silently. 

This place seems to be a rest stop, of sorts; Not as developed as the stables, with just a small camp and someone’s cabin, but it’s enough for Ari. The sun is beginning to dip below the horizon, and if they keep riding things will get rough. They pull their horses to a stop and dismount next to the cooking pot. The Wolf catches up - it had fallen behind when they sped their horses up apparently, not that Ari’s complaining - and sits down next to Link. 

  
  
“Whatcha gonna make?” Ari asks, peering over Link’s shoulder as he swipes through the Sheikah Slate’s inventory. 

  
  
“Pumpkin stew,” Link says, selecting one of Olkin’s fortified pumpkins. The Wolf barks, and Link gives an amused chuckle. “You like pumpkin stew?” The Wolf’s quickly wagging tail is answer enough. 

Link begins to cook - Ari watches him chop and stir with mild interest, blathering on about all sorts of things to distract herself. Eventually, Link says, “I just need to stir it every once in a while now,” and leans back against a tree.

“How do you know how to make that?” Ari asks, but she knows it’s a fruitless endeavor. Every time she cooks she asks the same question, and the answer is always the same:  _ I knew the recipe a hundred years ago.  _ And that’s entirely what Ari expects to hear this time, too, but then- 

“He taught me,” Link says simply. Then, his head snaps up, eyes wide. Ari gapes at him. 

  
  
“ _ Who  _ taught you?!” Ari asks frantically. This is good -  _ really  _ good! They’re making progress, even if it’s just a little bit. 

Link furrows his eyebrows, staring down at the boiling pot. “I-” He groans, clutching at his head. 

Ari places a hand on his back. “If you don’t know-” 

  
  
“No, no, it’s okay,” Link says. He shrugs her hand off. “Our - maybe it was our Dad - no, our brother? I can barely remember what he looks like but - I just remember - ah, it’s stupid, but I remember he always had this necklace with a crystal on it. That’s all I know.” 

  
  
Link’s gaze drifts over to the Wolf. The Wolf, for his part, lays in the grass several feet away and does not look back at them. 

“That’s okay,” Ari says. Her hands are shaking, and she shoves them in between her knees. “That’s okay,” she repeats. “I mean, I don’t remember what he looks like at all.” And that’s true - she remembers Link clear as day and their other brother clear as mud; She doesn’t even remember his  _ name.  _

Link stirs the stew again. Then, he closes his eyes. “He was taller than us.” 

  
  
“That’s not saying much,” Ari says. Link shrugs. 

“He had… brown hair, I think.” Link’s expression screws up in concentration. “No - it was more like blonde - dirty blonde. And… his eyes were blue.” Ari takes a breath and hopes Link doesn’t realize how much it shook. “Yeah, blue. And he… had sharp teeth. And sharp nails. Like claws.” 

  
  
“No, he didn’t,” Ari huffs. 

“Yes, he did!” Link says. His eyes open and he looks at her with a cheeky grin. “I think I remember you telling him you wanted sharp teeth, too.” 

  
  
Ari rolls her eyes. “Yeah, well, kids say weird things.” She opens her mouth wide, bringing up a finger to tap at her front teeth. “Besides, wouldn’t fangs look as cool as Din on me?” 

Link picks up the spoon to stir at the stew. He bumps his shoulder against hers. “Nothing looks cool on you. Besides, I like your tooth gap way more than fangs.”

  
_ “Rude!”  _ Ari gasps, a hand over her chest. “Rude and also somewhat contradictory! I can’t believe this! Betrayed by my own brother!” She falls back dramatically, slinging her other hand over her forehead. “The heartbreak may just kill me!” 

They lock eyes, and Link says, “Then perish.” 

And they hold that stare for a long moment, expressions deadly serious. Then Link’s lips quirk up ever so slightly and suddenly they are both cackling like hyenas. Ari falls the rest of the way backwards into the grass; Link doubles over himself. Her chest hurts with the strength of her laughter. 

“You’re so fucking stupid!” Ari chokes. “Goddess damn - it wasn’t even that  _ funny,  _ holy shit!” 

“I’m  _ hilarious,  _ thank you,” Link says with a faux smug look. Then he screeches; The pumpkin stew is boiling over. He begins to furiously stir it. 

“Dork,” Ari teases, sitting back up. “Absolute  _ dork _ . Can’t believe we share DNA.” 

  
  
She lifts her gaze to look over his shoulder at the scenery around them - the trees and the beehives and the flowers - and happens to lock eyes with the Wolf. And surprisingly, her mood doesn’t instantly sour. 

  
  
The Wolf’s eyes crinkle, lips pulled back in something that could possibly resemble a smile, and Ari can’t help but think that there’s something like fondness in its eyes. 

“What about Dad?” Ari says, ripping her eyes away from the Wolf. “Do you remember what he looked like?” 

Link hums, bringing a hand up to his eyes. “Missing one of these, I think. The other was blue. Uh… a weird nose.”    


  
“So that’s where you got it from.” 

He whacks her on the arm. “Shut up.” 

“Blonde hair… Darker than mine, but, uh, lighter than yours. And - he wasn’t very tall, either, but taller than us.” 

Ari groans. “Guess that’s where we got it from.” 

Link furrows his eyebrows, squinting at nothing. “I don’t - I think he worked a lot? I can’t remember.” 

  
  
“That’s okay.” She yawns, stretching her arms above her head. “For now, I want some stew before I pass out.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plot twist. wild invented the then perish meme. thanks 
> 
> thank you for reading! i hope u enjoyed! please leave a comment and kudos if u did <3 
> 
> also. heehee hoohoo. that One Guy in the character list that you couldn't figure out why he was in the character list. he is here now. my man. my boy. sadly he's dead (atm) but. my MAN


	5. hateno village // the house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a house in Hateno Village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAOOOO remember when maam said "im doing camp nano so frequent updates this month :D" well that was two months ago. anyway its june now and please dw im still in love w wild and ari .... the lights of my life istg this fic is everything to me. Everything

Hateno Village finds them Purah and Symin. After a bit of errand running, they end up with two new features in their Sheikah Slate: the camera and the compendium. And, of course, the pictures. 

They don’t stop to look at them, not yet. Instead they trek down to the beach, because a farmgirl they’d passed on the way asked for them to clear the beach of monsters. And it’s not that difficult, not between the two of them and the Wolf, but at the end of it Ari’s arm hurts a _lot._

The two of them stand at the highest level of the camp, catching their breath. Link is standing at its edge peering off into the distance.

Pulling an apple from the Sheikah Slate, Ari kicks at a dead moblin that’s dangling off the edge of the platform. Rotten blood stains her boot and she wrinkles her nose. 

“Whatcha’ lookin’ at?” Ari asks as she approaches her brother, handing the apple over. She speaks through grit teeth - her right arm aches like no tomorrow, but she ignores it. 

Link points down at the waves. The Wolf is paddling around, chasing fish and crabs. 

“It’s gonna get its damn feet wet,” Ari sighs, “And we’re not gonna be able to bring him into the inn if he’s soaking wet.” Then, she yells down at it - “Get outta the water!” It barks back up at her indignantly. 

Ari rolls her eyes. “Damn dog,” she groans, “I oughtta go down there and-” Then she breaks off, hissing at the sharp pain in her arm as she clutches at it. Link turns to her with outstretched hands. 

“I’m fine,” she says. By the time she stands up straight again, the pain’s already started to pass. “I’m fine.” 

“You sure?” Link asks. He hovers one hand over her back. “Do you need help?”

  
  
Ari furrows her eyebrows, stretching out her arm in front of her. “No - no, I don’t know what that was. It was weird. Let’s just - go back to the inn, yeah?” 

They settle down back at the inn on Link’s bed, knee to knee and shoulder to shoulder. Ari leans her head on her brother’s shoulder and the Wolf lays at Link’s other side, his head on his lap. Link swipes through the pictures - mostly different landscapes of places around Hyrule. One of them rings a bell in the back of Ari’s mind, and she taps at the screen, murmuring, _“Lanayru East Gate.”_ And then the last one- 

A boy and a girl stand next to each other in front of Hyrule Castle, both with swords on their hips and heads held high like soldiers. The boy’s hand is on her back as he glances her way while she stares straight ahead at the camera with a stony expression, hand on the hilt of her sword. Here, Link’s ponytail falls only to the base of his neck, and there are no scars marring his left side. He stands in a blue tunic and tan trousers while Ari wears full royal guard garb, a long blonde ponytail to rival Link’s current hair trailing down her back. The sword at Link’s hip - no, _Sword_ , capital S - shines with a light that can’t just be the sun. That must be something more. 

“That’s us,” Ari says as though it isn’t obvious. “Before…” 

“You look mean,” Link says. 

“Wow, thanks,” Ari groans, ruffling a hand through his hair despite the way he tries to bat it away. She stands and goes to collapse in her own bed. “I’ll see you in the morning, loser.” 

* * *

  
  


There’s a house in Hateno Village.   
  
Well, there are lots of houses in Hateno Village. That’s the whole point of a village, isn’t it? But this one sits above them all, at the top of a hill, with its crooked chimney and broken fence and the rickety bridge they have to cross to get to it. The man outside of it, in between his semi-flirtatious words that make Link go stock still and beet red, offers them the thing for three thousand rupees and thirty bundles of wood. 

Link and Ari don’t talk about it much before they say yes. They just sort of glance at each other and shrug, and then they trek down to the forest outside the village. 

There’s more bokoblins than expected down there, so they end up clearing out just as many monsters as they do trees. But eventually they’re standing in front of a pile of wood in silence.

  
  
“Why are we buying a house?” Ari asks. 

Link shrugs. “Can’t hurt.”  
  


“We’re teenagers,” Ari continues, her voice taking on a slightly incredulous tone. “Buying a _house.”_

Link shrugs again. He turns his head in the direction of the village, an odd expression on his face. “Just feels right, you know?”

“Not really.” Ari nabs the Sheikah Slate off his hip and starts to tap it to the wood bundles until they’ve all disappeared. Link doesn’t respond except for a small hum.

Ari looks up at her brother with narrowed eyes. He’s still staring off into the distance, the dying light of the sunset casting sharp shadows across his face. His scars stand out in this lighting, and for a moment Ari wonders something she’s been wondering this whole time - what did Ari do, to avoid injuries? How is she completely unharmed, when her brother’s suffered so much, her brother who _is_ and _was_ the epitome of a hero?

Ari sighs, then pushes ahead past him towards the path. “Let’s go.” 

  
  


The house on the hill is cold and empty, and it feels completely and utterly wrong. Despite the lack of furniture, the place feels like it should be warm and cozy and - well, Ari doesn’t know. It just shouldn’t be cold. She knows that, even if she doesn’t know _how_ she knows that.

The front door creaks closed behind the three of them. Link drags his fingers along the walls as he walks the main room’s perimeter, his footsteps echoing in the unfurnished room. Ari and the Wolf climb the stairs to the loft, and while he explores the rest of it she stops at the landing to look out the window. Her breath may have fogged the glass if it wasn’t for the thick layer of dust, and she brings the hem of her cloak up to rub a clear circle to peer through. She’d like a view of Hateno Village, but instead she gets the ugly Bolson style box houses.

  
  
“Ri!” Link calls from below, and Ari makes her way back down. Link is rummaging through a stack of boxes below the stairs, coughing every once in a while as dust billows up into his face. He pulls a random one out and sets it on the floor, sitting down in front of it. Ari plops down next to him as he opens it up with gentle hands. 

At the very top is a pair of children’s shoes, delicate buckled things a little girl would wear. Link rubs some of the dust off with his sleeve to reveal how much they once shined, then sets them down. He pulls out a few more pairs of shoes of varying sizes and styles, as well as some shirts and dresses. Nothing in this box is particularly interesting - until they hit the bottom. 

There’s a tiny, fabric covered case at the bottom. Link pulls it out and opens it cautiously to reveal a pair of earrings in surprisingly good condition. Each earring has three golden triangles; One connected to a cuff that would be at the top of the ear, with a long chain connecting it to a triangle for the earlobe with one more triangle dangling down from it off another chain. Ari takes the box from Link’s hands to run her fingertips over the century old jewelry. 

She recognizes them, she thinks. She remembers them when she remembers freckles on sun kissed skin and the smell of cinnamon wafting through the window. From the spark in Link’s eyes maybe he remembers something, too. 

“Link,” Ari starts, and then she goes completely still as an old memory overtakes her. 

  
  


_It’s a quiet day in Hateno Village. Ari is six, with mere months before she officially becomes a page. Link, the family knight himself, is home for the first time in a long while. At the moment, Link is sitting at the table, writing in his journal. Wolf is very badly hiding the fact that he’s snooping on Link’s writing while also talking with Ari and Mama. With how awful Wolf is at being subtle, Ari wouldn’t be surprised if Link’s writing in code - they teach you that in the military, you know! Link told her so! Hylia, Ari can’t wait to learn… then those stupid kids that always steal her sketchbook won’t be able to read anything she writes!_

_Ari herself is perched on top of the table, watching Mama chop vegetables at the counter. She’s right in front of the window, and when she turns the light catches in a way that makes the gold on her ears sparkle like a fairy’s wings._

_“Mama?” Ari asks, “Where did you get your earrings from?”_ _  
_

_“Your auntie made them,” Mama says._

_“Oh. When will we go visit Auntie?” Ari looks to the picture on the wall. It was taken last Christmas - her and Wolf and Link and Mama and Auntie and Epona (Auntie’s horse!) at Lon Lon Ranch. The only person missing is Daddy - he’s always away. He’s a soldier, after all._

_“I don’t know, dear,” Mama answers. “Lon Lon Ranch is very far away.” She stops for a moment, lookng out the window, and Ari leans a little so she can spot the edge of Mama’s wistful smile. With how far she’s leaning she nearly falls off the table, and Wolf pulls her back by her shirt._

_“Oh! Why do you wear those earrings every day?”_

_  
_ _  
_ _“Because I like them.”_

 _  
_ _  
_ _“Do they get dirty, since you never take them off?” Ari asks. Wolf snorts._

_With a small laugh, Mama answers, “No. Do you know what they represent, Ari?”_

_  
_ _  
_ _Ari cocks her head. “No. What?”_ _  
_

_  
_ _Mama turns from the counter, wiping her hands on her apron. She grabs Ari’s left hand. She turns to Wolf with a hand outstretched, and he gives her a blank stare back before she gives a small “Oh!” And grabs Link’s hand. “This Triforce,” she says, brushing a thumb over each of their hands. “This Triforce of Courage.”_

 _  
_ _  
_ _Something icky twists Ari’s stomach. It’s not often anyone acknowledges the mark on her hand. It makes her throat feel tight; She pulls her hand away from Mama quickly._

_“Oh,” Ari says, a little quieter, “Why?”_

_  
_ _  
_ _Wolf raises an eyebrow at Mama and gives her a look that Ari doesn’t quite understand. “Well,” Mama says, “let’s just say that the Triforce has always been quite important to the people in my life.” She looks at Wolf with fond eyes, and then her gaze starts to slide up towards the pictures on the mantle._

_Wolf sighs. “You’re reminiscing again!”_

_  
_ _  
_ _He yelps when Mama whacks his arm with her kitchen towel. “Oh, quiet, you! Like you’re any better.” Wolf pouts like a puppy, putting his head in his hands._

_Link finally looks up from his journal. (He hadn’t even looked up when Mama grabbed his hand! He’s so_ calm _and_ cool _and_ strong _and Ari wants to be_ just _like him!) “I like your earrings, Mama,” he says._

_“Thank you, Link,” Mama says with a fond smile. Link nods and looks back down at his journal. Ari wonders what he’s writing - something super cool, she’ll bet, about how heroic he is! Something about all the hinoxes and lynels and bokoblins he’s killed! Super, super cool!_

_“I like them a lot too!” Flailing her hands for emphasis, Ari continues, “They’re super pretty! And sparkly and cute! I want earrings like them!”_

_  
_ _  
_ _Mama huffs a laugh. “Well, maybe I’ll give them to you one day.”_

By the time Ari comes to again, she’s propped up against the wall in the corner, Link’s head on her shoulder. Judging by the light filtering through the window she couldn’t have been out of it more than ten minutes, but he’s dozed off. 

_Mama,_ Ari thinks, and she tries her best to picture the woman in her head from that one memory. Freckles on sun kissed skin, and red hair, and Link’s jawline, and Ari’s cheekbones, and earrings with three triangles. The case is held loose in Link’s hand, the golden earrings glittering in the dimming light. 

_Mama,_ Ari thinks again, then _Wolf._ Something builds in her chest and behind her eyes until she lets out a quiet sob, bringing one hand up to the back of Link’s head to fist in his hair as he snores. Her other hand comes up to her mouth in an effort to muffle herself. She squeezes her eyes shut to block any tears that try and spill out.

It’s only been a few minutes, but the details of Mama’s face are already fading from her mind. She reaches after them desperately but comes back with nothing concrete, just a hazy form with red hair and a bright smile. 

And her oldest brother. With Mama’s nose, and the same eyes as Link. Her brother who was always with them, _always_ kept them safe. 

Something moves nearby, and Ari turns frantic eyes to the Wolf, trotting down the stairs. He stops short when he makes it to the bottom and his big blue eyes meet Ari’s. She sucks in a shaking breath and holds a little tighter to the somehow still sleeping Link. The Wolf steps forward once, then again, then seems to make up his mind and approaches the two of them. He’s just a little taller than Ari when he’s sitting next to her.

  
  
The Wolf leans forward and noses at the hand over Ari’s face. She takes another ragged breath before moving that hand to the thick mane of fur around his head. The two of them sit there silently, the Wolf patient as she runs her hands through his fur and attempts to calm her breathing.   
  


“We’ve gotta brush your fur sometime,” she murmurs, and the Wolf huffs. There’s an odd look in his eyes and Ari thinks she comes to a realization about him. 

Link shifts, and the Wolf backs off. By the time Link forces his eyes open the Wolf is back up the stairs as though he’d been there the whole time. 

“Ari,” Link whispers as he blinks bleary eyes at her. He furrows his eyebrows, bringing a hand up to her tearstained cheek, and she bats him away. “What was it?” He asks, and she shrugs. 

She takes the earrings from his hand. “These were Mama’s.” 

“Oh,” he says, staring at them with furrowed eyebrows. Then he sits up a bit and Ari shuffles away. He stretches his arms above him with a long yawn. “Do you want to clean them up, then? So you can wear them?”

Ari closes the case and holds it close to her chest for a moment. Then, “Yeah. I think that would be nice.”

* * *

  
  


The trek through the ruins of Lanayru Promenade is that of slippery stone and skinned knees. More than once, Ari finds herself sliding on the damp path and falling; Link, infuriatingly, remains standing pretty much the whole time. The grace he holds himself with is… it’s something learned in their old life, she’s sure, and Ari envies it. Her newly cleaned earrings glitter in the sunlight and she entertains herself by trying to use them to direct the sun into his eyes. Sadly, it doesn’t work, and he gives her a weird look as she turns her head all over the place.

There’s a number of lizalfos and even a few moblins on the path. It takes no small amount of effort to get rid of them, and even then they opt to rush past the lizalfos that don’t pose an immediate threat, like the ones swimming in the water. The Sheikah sensor goes wild about halfway through. Link is the one who spots the orange glow in front of the waterfall across the way. It would be a tough swim, especially with the lizalfos swimming around, so they mark it off for later. 

By the time they reach the East Gate, Ari is at her wit’s end. She and Link have each broken a weapon or two and sustained more injuries than they care to admit. But they’re here, and it’s just like the place in the picture. Link holds the Slate up in front of them to compare - not much has changed in the last hundred years. 

“It’s a pretty place,” Ari says to distract from how quickly her heart beats in anticipation. She points to the top of the mountain. “I bet it would be fun to go up there.” 

Link hums his agreement. Then he drops the Sheikah Slate. Ari dives to grab it before it hits the ground. _It’s Link’s turn._

Link stands there, staring up at the mountain with wide, glazed eyes, for a long time. Ari starts to get a little bored, truthfully. After a few minutes Ari sits down and starts cleaning up some of the scratches she sustained on the journey. Something cries out from far away; Ari squints at the top of the mountain to discern what it could have been. The sun begins to set and the air cools; She can see Link’s breaths.

  
  
And then Link falls. 

Ari barely manages to grab him before his head crashes into the ground. He rolls away from her and onto his knees and - _Eugh._ Vomit. She scrambles onto her knees and pulls his long bangs back before they can get too gunked up. Link pukes again. _Gross,_ she thinks, leaning back a bit. 

When he’s done, he shuffles over to the side a bit away from his bile. Then he settles his head in the dirt, panting, and Ari doesn’t know how to help except for running her hands through his hair and humming under her breath. 

Part of her thinks it’s odd - seing Link so vulnerable, that is. The part of her that thinks that is the same part of her from a hundred years ago, the part of her that whispers about things Ari can’t remember. 

“Link?” Ari asks gently after a long moment, and he shoots up. His head would have knocked against hers if she hadn’t reeled back.   
  


“Aryll,” Link gasps, grabbing her by the shoulders. He searches her face with a desperate expression that makes Ari’s chest tighten. “Goddess, Aryll.” Then he throws his arms around her. Ari raises her eyebrows and very hesitantly brings her hands up to pat awkwardly at his back. His shoulders shake a little too much, and she doesn’t mention it. 

Then something moves over Link’s shoulder. 

“Lynel!” Ari gasps. 

Moment fucking ruined. The damned thing is approaching the gate. They spring apart, Link scrambling for the Slate while Ari goes for her sword and shield. The lynel draws back its bow and Ari raises her shield too fast; A wave of pain racks her body, emanating from her arm, and she watches the arrow leave the bow- 

Link grabs her by the back of her shirt, and then they’re at the Shrine in Hateno. 

“Shit!” Ari hisses, dropping to her knees. She clutches her right arm to her chest as she’s blinded by the pain. Link shouts, and then there are two people pulling her up and across the bridge. 

The pain fades into a dull sting by the time they reach the end of the bridge, though. She detaches from Link and Bolson’s hold despite their protests. Still clutching her arm, she seats herself in the dirt next to the front door of their home. The Wolf sits down next to her, peering down at her with the same unreadable eyes he always has. 

“Second time,” Link says as he crouches down in front of her. He takes her arm into his hands with gentle fingers, pulling up her sleeve. “What happened?” 

“I don’t _know,”_ Ari hisses. He’s working circles into his skin that must be meant to help her pain. She rips her arm away. “It must have happened - before.” 

Link furrows his eyebrows, settling his hands on his knees. “Before,” he agrees. Then, “You’ll have to be careful.”

  
  
Shrugging, Ari stands. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Don’t think this doesn’t mean I couldn’t still beat your ass in a fight.” 

Link smiles as he follows her back up. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

* * *

“You called me Aryll,” Ari says quietly when they’re laying in bed later that night. The Wolf lays on the floor at the foot of the bed, and Ari watches his ears twitch when she starts to speak. 

Link hums. “That’s your name.” 

“You never call me that.” 

“...I remembered thinking of you,” Link admits. “The day the Calamity came. First thing I thought of was you. And - I gave Revali a note to drop off when he flew by. I had already written it… weeks before.” 

She has no idea what to say, because she has no memory of that. She doesn’t remember the day the Calamity came _(except for pain in her arm and the bright light of a guardian's laser and a wolf’s howl)._ And there is no way to make it better, there is no way to excuse it, there is no _it wasn’t your fault._

But there is this: There is grabbing her brother’s hand and whispering _“I’m still here.”_

He squeezes her hand back. “I know,” he says, and he pulls her close. 

“I’m still here,” she repeats as she buries her head in his chest, “I’m still here. It’s you and me, dork.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading !! please leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed <3 
> 
> and of course here is my mandatory special shoutout to the aaa!! em also gets her own shoutout . this is for u . this shoutout is for u . i hope u like it

**Author's Note:**

> i hope u enjoyed!! please leave a comment if u did <3


End file.
